We left early the next morning. I thought riding in the armor would be difficult, but it once again felt like it belonged on me. We traveled light, with only small packs that would fit on the horses. We needed to move fast along the trails to reach the villagers before any Raiders could. Our goal was to lead villagers back to the Crystal Palace, but we were ready for a fight if one arose.
The King was true to his word, and sent some of the best Knights in the Realm with me. We were a strike force that could challenge a full army if need be.
"Where to first Sir Gorin?"
"I thought we would head towards your old home. There were reports of villagers hiding around the area a couple of weeks ago. It would be nice to see where you grew up."
"To the Colsteen village then."
It had been nearly half a year since I left my village. I traveled all over the Realm and ended up only miles away.
"Why haven't the villagers traveled to the Palace yet? They are only a few miles away."
"There was a report of bandits along the trails there. They have been hiding off the trails and attacking anyone that travels by. So, if you're ready for a fight Sir Patchwork, you will get one soon."
"Bandits? With all that's going on with the Raiders invading the Realm, why would there be bandits?"
"Bandits stalk the trails in even the best of times. With this land in chaos, it is ever more to their advantage. People are traveling the trails with all of their belongs, and are ripe for the picking."
I couldn't believe that people could be so vile, that they would attack the defenseless in their time of most need. I could feel a rage boiling inside of me with each thought.
"Where are they located?"
"One of our scouts found a camp not far from your village. They are hiding in a glen near a small stream. There a 8 men that the scout could see, but more could have been hunting or watching the trails."
"I know exactly where they are. I used to train in that glen."
"Is that where you killed the giant wolf?"
"It was near there, and it wasn't a giant wolf. It was just a very large one."
"Can you lead us there without being seen?"
"I'm not sure. I always only went from the village to there, but if you can get me to the stream I should be able to guide everyone there with little problem."
"That should be easy enough then."
We traveled the distance to the stream in short time. Sir Gorin ordered the men to dismount and tie their horses off near the stream so that they could water.
"I want to scout ahead, and see what is there to prepare us. I will return in short time and set up our attack."
"Be safe Sir Pitre."
"Can I come with you Pitre."
"No Rolf, you stay here, it will be much safer. I promise I won't let you miss out on any of the action."
I entered the Euphoria and ran at a sprint without making a sound to the glen. It was as Sir Gorin said, a camp with 8 men sitting around a camp fire with small carts and bundles of goods surrounding them. The spoils of their thievery.
Within an hour of sitting and watching, three more men walked up.
"If you are here, who is watching the trail?"
"There is no one coming along that trail anymore. It has been days since anyone came by. It's time to change the watch anyway."
"You change the watch when your replacements come for you, not the other way around."
The voice was coming from a large man that had been sitting inside a tent. He emerged when he spoke those words, and walked up to a dirty slender man that had been speaking. When he was within arms reach, he reached out and grabbed the man by his throat.
"Now, are we going to have to have a repeat of the conversation that gave you that scar on you cheek there."
I could see a large scar that ran from his hairline to the base of his jaw on his right cheek.
"No sir. It's just that we...."
"There is no just anything. You obey orders and you reap the rewards when this damned conflict is over. We are going to be rich men when this is all over, but you may not make it if you keep leaving your post before your replacement comes. Since you saw fit to leave early, you can gather the fire wood to keep this fire going tonight."
The large man then threw the man a couple of feet from him, he then turned around and walked back to his tent.
"I want the next three men on watch to get there NOW!"
Three men that had been siting around the fire eating quickly got up and ran to where the men had just come from. The slender man got up from where he had landed and grabbed a small hatchet and began walking in my direction. I slunk further back into the woods and waited for him.
We walked side by side for a few minutes without him knowing I was there. I stayed just far enough back to avoid his sight. He was mumbling the entire time, so even if I was making any noise along the floor of the wood, he wouldn't have heard me. He found a small sapling and began hacking at it, to cut it down. I slowly walked up behind him and drew my sword.
"That sapling is going to be no good for firewood. It is too green."
The man spun on his heels and nearly fell to the ground as he stumbled away from where my voice came from.
"Whaaa!"
"Shhhh. This will go much better for you if you remain silent. Are there only eleven of you, or are there more watching the trail?"
"Huh, wha, where, did you come from?'
"That doesn't matter, what matters is that I am pointy a rather thirsty sword at your throat and I'm asking the questions. So, do you have answers, or just more questions?"
"Th th th there are only eleven of us. W w w w we onl only send th th th three out at a a a time."
"Good, that is all I needed to know."
I thrust my sword through his throat. He reached up grabbed my sword and tried to pull it from his throat. I gave no way. I watched the life drain from his eyes, and his body slide from my sword.
"You attack the defenseless, so it was a pleasure to watch you die the same way."
I cleaned my blade off on his coat and put it back in it's sheath. I walked back to the stream to tell the men what the camp looked like and we planned our attack.
"I think the best think would be to surround the entire camp and then crush them all at once."
"I agree Darius. We can send a couple of men off in the direction that their watch went, and they can sneak up behind them."
"I'll do it. I can take all three of them."
"Sir Constant, you can go, but you won't go it alone. We will get in place and then give you a minute to get to those other men before we attack. Rolf are you up for a challenge?"
"I am."
"You go along with Sir Constant and try to keep him from talking and giving your position away. If you hear our attack before you get to the tree guards on the trail, hide and wait for them to come to you. You will still have that element of surprise, because they will expect everyone to be at the camp."
"Yes sir, Sir Darius."
I believe we are going to make a knight out of him after all Sir Pitre."
"I think he may already be there. His training has come along quite nicely. He hasn't entered the Swordsman's Euphoria yet, but it should happen soon."
"Ok, let's get this over with so that we can start bringing those villagers to the safety of the palace."
We slowly walked back to the bandit's camp site and read out around them still hidden within the trees. Sir Constance and Rolf quickly and quietly left in the direction that the guards went to the trail. We the other 13 of us waited patiently until Sir Gorin gave the signal for attack. All of our eyes were on him.
"Attackers!" The large man had come out of his tent with a large double sided ax.
The signal was not going to come. We all rushed in, and I made a straight line for the ax man. He turned as if he knew my attack was coming and stood in guard with his ax raised over his shoulder. I rushed in and stabbed my sword at his stomach, but he turned. As he did so, he swung his ax at my head. I slid across the ground and arched backwards, watching the blade of the ax passing inches above my face. I spun as soon as I stopped my slide and stood back up to face the large man. He was even bigger face to chest then he was from a distance. He was already spun around himself and a few feet away from me standing in that menacing guard with he large ax over his shoulder. I began to circle watching his midsection for the first movement from him. My father always told me not to watch the hands, feet, or even the eyes of an opponent. They were deceiving, but the stomach always told the truth. He jumped back. it was an attempt to draw me in for his ax swing. I didn't follow and his swing harmlessly passed far in front of me. The massive ax took the man off balance who had anticipated it lodging into my side. His feet faltered and I pounced.
My sword bit into his head as he was falling to the ground. It wasn't the strike I wanted but it would do. A chunk of his head was cleaved away as he hit the ground. I turned my attention to the action that was going on around me. Sir Gorin and Sir Darius were taking on three men to my right, while a young Knight was standing over a fallen bandit. he quickly ran to their aid when he saw the odds against them. I continued to turn and assess the area. Everyone had a fallen bandit or one about to fall in front of them. Rolf and Sir Constance were walking back into the camp, bloodied but unharmed. A strange look was on their faces.
"Pitre, behind you!"
I turned to see the massive man standing with the ax fully above his head.
"I'm going to kill you."
The chunk of blood scalp dangled over his ear and the ax was beginning to fall straight for my head. It would cleave me in half if I didn't move fast. I threw my sword in the air, and drew my father's sword from my side. In one motion I swung it up and sliced the ax handle causing the blade to go spinning off right past my head. I spun to avoid what was left of the handle and caught my sword in my left hand. I continued my spin to come fully around. I slashed my father's sword across his belly and my sword across his throat. He dropped the ax handle and grabbed for both wounds trying to stop the bleeding. He looked at me with rage in his eyes. I drove both swords through his chest with so much force that they exited his back. A gurgling roar came from his throat as he fell to the ground. The woods fell to silence and only the scrapping of boots could be heard across the forest floor.
"Pitre, are you ok."
It was Rolf he had apparently run to my side after he screamed.
"I'm fine. Is everyone unharmed?"
Individually each man shouted out a positive reply.
"Pitre, do you know this man?"
"No, should I Sir Darius?"
"This man is the most wanted bandit in all of the Realm. Even in the best of times, this man was a scourge on the King's lands. This is Black Blade. He was rumored to have some kind of magic that told him of an attack. He has never been even wounded in a battle. The Knights have been sent out for years to find this man, and here he was at the doorstep of the Crystal Palace."
"I think you should take this ax blade Pitre. As a trophy for killing the most wanted bandit in the Realm."
I looked at the ax blade that Sir Gorin was now holding in both hands towards me. It was nearly the size of a small shield and black as night. It didn't shine, it seemed to absorb any light that was near it.
"I have a better idea. My father's old forge is not far from where we stand. Let's melt this blade down and give it back to the land, so that it will never harm anyone again. Then we will find those villagers."
"A good idea indeed. Your old village will be the perfect place to camp for the night."
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